Vilnius  - Lithuania's central bank intervened Monday to quell devaluation jitters that have gathered pace in the Baltic state in recent days.

After a weekend during which currency exchange offices reported unusually strong demand for foreign currency, Reinoldijus Sarkinas, governor of the Bank of Lithuania, declared that there was no plan to change the current exchange rate of the national currency, the litas.

Vilnius  - Vilnius' year as one of two European Capitals of Culture (ECC) was supposed to be a chance to showcase the Lithuanian capital to the rest of the world - but less than three months into 2009, the title seems to have become as much a curse as a blessing.

The project has seen its funding slashed, a police raid on its administrative office, staff laid off, and the sacking of its director, Elona Bajoriniene.

Vilnius - The European Union's Financial Planning and Budgets Commissioner, Dalia Grybauskaite, who will be a candidate in Lithuania's May presidential election, denied Friday that she is a closet lesbian.

Taking part in an online question-and-answer session on a popular Lithuanian website, Grybauskaite was asked "The press covered a story a few years ago saying you are in a relationship with another woman... As a voter, I would like to know what your sexual orientation is."

Vilnius - The European Union's Financial Planning and Budgets Commissioner, Dalia Grybauskaite, confirmed Thursday that she will be a candidate in May's presidential election to be held in her homeland, Lithuania.

Speaking at a specially-convened press conference in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Grybauskaite told reporters she felt the time was right to return from her European duties given the number of people urging her to stand and the seriousness of the economic situation facing the Baltic state.

Vilnius  - The Lithuanian government is to sell off its remaining 10 per cent stake in the only oil refinery operating in the Baltic states, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Tuesday.

The buyer is Polish energy giant PKN Orlen, which already owns the other 90 per cent of the Mazeikiu Nafta facility in northern Lithuania, which is one of the biggest commercial enterprises in the Baltics.

Vilnius - Polish President Lech Kaczynski made the short trip across the border to neighbouring Lithuania on Monday to join celebrations of the Baltic state's independence day.

Kaczynski was the guest of his Lithuanian counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, as the two leaders marked their countries' close cultural and historical ties.

The presidents took part in a flag-raising ceremony in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, before celebrating mass together in Vilnius Cathedral, followed by a working lunch.

Earlier, Adamkus handed out a variety of state decorations to individuals who had been of service to the state.